Organizing the Business Backend: 5 Tools to Help You + Your Team Feel More Empowered

When you were a team of one, flying by the seat of your pants was totally doable. You never understood why people told you to get all of that “backend stuff” in check. You were doing just fine, if not amazing!

But now that you have a team to manage, you’re starting to wonder if they were right. You’re operating in constant chaos, always being pulled from one task to the next, with little to no time left to focus on the CEO-level work. 

Am I reading your mind? Thought so! But I’m not here to tell you that “It’s just the way having a business goes” or to reaffirm your belief that all is doomed. 

You just need some operational guidelines in place. Once you do, your team is free to do their best work, and you’re free to step back into that role of CEO!

Sound good? Here are five things you can sort out ASAP to make that dream a reality.

Organize the business backend by creating SOPs

SOPs, or standard operating procedures, are essential to any business. They’re the best way to organize and structure your operations, whether you’re writing blogs, reaching out to clients, or setting up payroll. Create SOPs for every recurring task in your business!

I know this may feel redundant, but, when you need to fill in a fellow team member while you’re OOO, or when it’s time to pass off and delegate that work to someone else, having these SOPs in your back pocket will make the transition a breeze!

My advice? Create these SOPs as if whoever will be looking at them has zero knowledge of how to do the task. Yes, that does mean every single step, but you don’t want to leave any box unchecked. 

Use Tango to make SOP creation even easier

To keep things from feeling redundant (and to make sure I don’t miss a step) I use Tango to create my SOPs. This AI-powered platform records each step as you do them. All you have to do is go back and review the workflow to polish it up!

It’s fast, straightforward, and FREE. Get started with Tango here. 

(No, this is not an ad or affiliate link. I just REALLY love Tango!)

Organize the business backend by creating guideline sheets

Guideline sheets are one of those things that seem like a “duh,” but you don’t realize how helpful they are until they’re implemented. 

Laying everything out in a simple, easy-to-follow guideline sheet means you eliminate confusion, cut down on time spent answering questions, and minimize stress by keeping it all organized. 

You can create guideline sheets to keep your team up to speed on things like:

• Naming conventions
• Google Drive Organization guidelines
• How to organize company inboxes
• How to organize file folders

Once created, house them in your project management platform for easy access (and so your team members can say goodbye to being asked the same questions over-and-over!).

Organize the business backend by using templates

Templates aren’t just for graphics and spreadsheets. A good rule of thumb to follow: Anything you do more than once, whether on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, should have a template!

Templates keep everything consistent, and cuts out time spent recreating documents each time you need to use them. The goal is to keep you, and your team, from reinventing the wheel each time you need to:

• Write emails
• Send client briefs
• Create projects in Asana or ClickUp
• Draft your weekly email newsletter to your list
• Or literally anything else you do in your business!

It may be some extra effort to create in the beginning, but it will save you tenfold in the long run. Team members won’t be scrambling (and wasting their hours) trying to figure out how to format things, and you won’t be wasting your time editing and revising them. 

Templates save everyone time, money, and energy.   

Organize the business backend by using master files

Just like templates, master files can help you save time by setting ground rules for how to organize important documents. This mostly applies to spreadsheets that are actively used on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. I like to call these “living and breathing” documents!

Having a master copy also means nothing gets edited, or diluted, during routine use! 

Use master files for things like: 

• Social media metrics
• Sales metrics
• Funnel performance
• Content calendars
• Client onboarding checklists

This doesn’t just apply to you, though. It also applies to your client work! Trust me, keeping things consistent across the board, whether internal or external, improves efficiency and professionalism, leaving you space to really wow your clients!

Organize the business backend by creating a company hub

Now that you have all these ultra-important, hugely helpful documents, SOPs, and guidelines, you need somewhere to house them all!

In your project management system, create a central “hub” where your team (and let’s be honest…you 😉) can find everything you need, exactly when you need it. Meaning…you can *officially* mark off “Hunt down documents on Google Drive” from your to-do list! 

PRO TIP: This is also a great place to house Google Drive folders, brand information (like HEX codes, fonts, and brand guidelines), photography, educational resources, team information, etc. 

Overwhelmed? You don’t have to go it alone. 

Not sure this can really make a difference? I get it. The overhaul can be intimidating when you first look at it. But it’s so worth the reward, friends!

Because once you take care of the backend, you can really start to focus on doing whatever you love most!
You don’t have to do this alone, though. If you want a helping hand getting your operations ironed out…I’m so there! Follow me here to learn more about how we can work together!